Network Sharing Strategies and Regulations in Europe and the Middle East

Abstract: The thesis work intends to tackle network sharing practices in Eu- rope and in the Middle East and to convey the regulatory structure in both continents. To do this, a number of countries have been chosen such as to show the dierent types of sharing and how the agreements dier depending on the depth of them. To do this, I look at the market conditions and the incentive for a certain depth of sharing, and at the same time I investigate to what extent sharing is possible from the regulatory authority. Equal attention is given both on Europe and the Middle East in order to draw fair comparisons. Most results given on the Middle East have been evident due to the interviews conducted. The regulatory structure in both continents is given in order to un- derstand how properly separated regulations are and in what way the regulatory role diers. In the last part, I investigate whether or not a higher extent of sharing would suit the Arabic countries and if it is attractive by the market players. The results show that the operators in Europe are sharing all kind of equipment and a shift towards a full sharing scenario is evident, whereas the sharing agreements in the Middle East are limited to pas- sive sharing or no sharing at all. In terms of what is allowed and what's not, the regulators in EU have dierent opinions on how much is allowed whether the regulators in the Middle East are fairly neutral towards it, i.e they do not actively support it nor do they reject it. In terms of regulations, the regulator role is to apply the laws of the EU Commission in all the members states of EU, whereas the role is to follow the policy of the Ministry in the Arabic countries. This has not always allowed for a proper separation of the Ministry and acting regulator in the Middle East, and due to that some regulators have not been able to conduct their responsibilities freely. When the sepa- ration has been successful, the regulator has been seen to give a much clearer stance on network sharing, typically in the form of including requirements with licenses that facilitates sharing, such as in Oman and Jordan. The need to share more infrastructures have been evident through a initiative taken by the biggest operators in the MENA re- gion. At the same time, I have concluded that none of the countries I have studied has the advantage of adopting a higher extent of shar- ing today because competition is limited and because passive sharing needs to become fully common and co-opetition developed, before it is to happen. Meanwhile, to get two competitors to go beyond passive will most likely not happen today if they are not compelled by the regulator.